miR-23b inhibits proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells by directly targeting IL-11

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in the 21st century. microRNA (miR)-23b has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of many cancers, including breast and prostate cancer. However, the role of miR-23b in HCC remains unclear. The present study revealed a negative correlation between miR-23b expression in HCC tissues and progression of carcinomas. Compared to normal tissues, miR-23b expression was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues, whereas the expression of interleukin (IL)-11 and IL-11 receptor α (IL-11Rα) was significantly upregulated, indicating that miR-23b expression is negatively correlated with IL-11 and IL-11Rα expression. In addition, miR-23b inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells. This effect was mediated by IL-11, which was found to be the direct target of miR-23b in this study. These results indicated that miR-23b regulates IL-11 and IL-11Rα expression, and might act as an anti-oncogenic agent in the progression of HCC by directly downregulating IL-11 expression.